INFORMAL WORKING GROUP ON MSMES

CONVENING NOTICE

Revision

The following convening notice, dated 9 September 2025, is being circulated at the request of the Coordinator of the Informal Working Group on MSMEs, Ambassador Matthew Wilson (Barbados).

_______________

The Informal Working Group on MSMEs will hold its next regular meeting in hybrid mode on Friday 3 October 2025, starting at 10:00. In-person participation is encouraged by the Coordinator.

For delegates wishing to join remotely via the Interprefy platform, a technical guide summarizing logistical details for participation in Interprefy meetings will be made available on the Members' interactive calendar of meetings, and can also be found at: WTO Interprefy Delegate Guide.

I ITEMS PROPOSED FOR THE AGENDA

The following items, based on the work programme adopted by the Group at its March 2023 meeting and in discussions at recent meetings, are proposed for the agenda:

1  WIPO ASSEMBLIES – NEW WIPO MSME INITIATIVES

WIPO ADG Marco Aleman will join the MSME Group to share new WIPO initiatives for MSMEs announced at the 2025 WIPO Assemblies. These initiatives enhance WIPO's commitment to making intellectual property more accessible for traditionally underrepresented groups. Over the past four years, WIPO programs, projects, and support have reached 400,000 youth, 300,000 women, and 200,000 SMEs worldwide.

2  GLOBAL SME MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE

2.1  Key outcomes

The ITC's Deputy Executive Director, Dorothy Tembo, and South Africa will brief the Group on key outcomes from the first Global SME Ministerial Conference held in Johannesburg from 22‑24 July 2025. A Call-to-Action to influence global economic discussions was issued, including the Group of 20 in November, the WTO Ministerial Conference in March 2026, and UNCTAD in October. A roadmap for biennial meetings, leading to Global SME Ministerial Meetings every two years was outlined.

2.2  Leadership Dialogue for Trade Promotion Organizations

Continuing the thematic discussion on Business Support Organizations, Anne Chappaz will return to share updates from The Leadership Dialogue for Trade Promotion Organizations that was held on the sidelines of the SME Ministerial Conference. The dialogue emphasized the need for TPOs to support SMEs with the right mix of know-how, market linkages, financial resources, and an enabling business environment, offering a roadmap for TPO excellence.

3  2025 SMALL BUSINESS CHAMPIONS

The two winners of the 2025 ICC-ITC-WTO MSME Group Small Business Champions will join the Group to share their innovative proposals and updates. Thao Tran, Director of NetZero Pallets, will present their sustainable logistics solution that upcycles agricultural waste into new shipping pallets using a closed-loop system to minimize landfill waste. Bishwadeep Moitra, Co-founder and CEO of Silaiwali will showcase a circular economy approach that upcycles textile waste into handcrafted products made by Afghan women refugees, reducing landfill use and promoting sustainable consumption.

4  MC14 PREPARATION

4.1  Update from the Informal Working Group on Trade and Gender

The Chairs of the Informal Working Group on Trade and Gender will update the MSME Group on their 8 October 2025 open-ended meeting, covering MC14 output planning and proposed areas of collaboration between the two groups.

4.2  MSME Group Documents

Members are invited to review and discuss the proposed documents to be issued for MC14. These include:

1._         The WCO, ICC and WTO Joint Study Report on Integration of MSMEs into Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Programmes (_INF/MSME/W/62/Rev.2), as adopted by the Informal Working Group on MSMEs on 5 March 2025 with a final report to be issued by the WCO.

2._         The Coordinator's Report highlighting the work of the Informal Working Group on MSMEs between MC13 and MC14, including lessons learned from the thematic sessions on business support organizations, digitalization, good regulatory practices, and informality and takeaways from the MSME Spotlights and Newsletter interviews of MSMEs and BSOs, document forthcoming.

5  THEMATIC DISCUSSIONS

5.1  Informality

Following from the thematic discussions held on 5 March and 26 June 2025, presentations on business informality will be shared with the MSME Group.

5.1.1  Presentation by the ILO

During the 113th Session (2025) of the International Labour Conference (ILC), ILO constituents came together for the General Discussion on addressing informality and promoting the transition to formality for decent work. Governments, employers and workers reflected on the progress, outcomes, and experiences of the past decade since the adoption of ILO Recommendation 204 on The Transition from the Informal to Formal Economy (2015). Kareem Bayo, Technical Officer on Enterprise Formalization at the ILO, will present the key outcomes of the discussions which identified the need for more effective and innovative approaches to advance formalization and decent work for enterprises and workers.

5.1.2  The Small and Medium Enterprises development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN)

The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) will present their research on business informality in Nigeria and their programs related to MSME access to finance, the green transition and digitalization. This includes two recent reports on Enhancing Access to Finance for Women-Owned Enterprises in Nigeria: A technical Study by the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and the Moniepoint Informal Economy Report 2024.

5.2  Female Entrepreneurship Capacity Building and Support

The Export School of the Russian Export Center will present an overview of the programs targeted on support and development of female entrepreneurship in the Russian Federation.

6  IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DECEMBER 2020 MSME PACKAGE

6.1  Reporting by Members

Members will be invited to share updates on actions taken to implement the December 2020 MSME package (_INF/MSME/4/Rev.2). Members will be invited to report on:

·_              Inclusion of MSME information in trade policy reviews (TPRs) – Members having undergone a recent Trade Policy Review will be invited to report on their inclusion of MSME information in their TPRs (Annex 1 of _INF/MSME/4/Rev.2);

·_              Actions taken to support the Global Trade Helpdesk (Annex 2);

·_              Trade facilitation measures for MSMEs (Annex 3);

·_              Inclusion of MSMEs in the development of trade regulations to minimize regulatory burden (Annex 4);

·_              Implementation of the 2019 Integrated Database Decision (Annex 5). The Secretariat will make a presentation on the automatic data exchange of tariff and import data;

·_              Actions taken to facilitate MSME access to finance, including trade finance, and cross-border payments (Annex 6).

6.2  IADB

The IADB will present the findings from its recent study on Facilitating International Trade for MSMEs. The study provides a comprehensive toolkit of best practices and measures based on a detailed review of trade facilitation policies, along with a mapping of indicators demonstrating progress in Latin American and Caribbean countries. The study further interviewed businesses themselves to better link trade facilitation policies and practices. This presentation will offer valuable insights for policymakers aiming to enhance the competitiveness of MSMEs and promote their integration into regional and global value chains.

7  STRENGTHENING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS

7.1  MSME Spotlight

The United Nation's Sanitation and Hygiene Fund (SHF), champions improved sanitation, hygiene, and menstrual health as basic human rights and as key drivers for unlocking potential to create lasting, sustainable impact worldwide, will join the MSME Group to introduce AFRIpads, an international MSME producing reusable menstrual hygiene products in Uganda. AFRIpads is a leading social enterprise having sold and delivered reusable menstrual hygiene products to over 40 economies and more than 5 million women and girls.

7.2  OECD

Zofia Polakiewicz will join from the OECD to update the MSME Group on recent work, including FDI-SME linkages, first insights from the 2026 SME Finance Scoreboard, up to date information on SME digitalization/AI adoption trends, and the trade-related aspects of the recent D4SME survey.

7.3  Universal Postal Union

The Universal Postal Union (UPU) will join the MSME Group to share its latest initiatives, notably the key findings related to e-commerce from its upcoming Digital panorama report, and the new Trade Post project aimed at enhancing trade facilitation through posts for MSMEs.

8  BRIEFINGS ON MSME-RELATED DISCUSSIONS IN OTHER WTO BODIES

8.1  Digital Trade Transformation Forum

Emmanuelle Ganne will join to share an overview of relevant information from the 10 September 2025 Digital Trade and Transformation Forum.

9  OTHER BUSINESS

9.1  Report from the Trade4MSMEs Network Meeting

The Coordinator will share updates from the regular meeting with the Trade4MSMEs Network of organizations (_INF/MSME/6) held on 23 September 2025.

II ORGANIZATIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

__________